Garden At Dusk, Jodhpur
posted by jespes at 8:46 PM
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Monday, November 1
Friday, October 29
Wednesday, October 27
Greetings From The Road To Jodhpur
We're writing this post four hours into a grueling all-day drive to Jodhpur. It's becoming clear to us that if our car has shock absorbers at all, they -- like so many of India's beautiful temples and monuments -- are made out of stone.
For relief, we've pulled over for a snack at a roadside restaurant. Thus do we find ourselves at the Motel Maharana Tourist Complex. A more appropriate name for this restaurant might be the Twilight Zone Food Bunker. Turns out there's no motel here, no complex, no maharanas -- and we're the only tourists dumb enough to step across the threshold.
In a dining room as cozy as a Jiffy Lube, we're shown to our a table. Our eyes strain to pierce the gloom. The waiter is pointing at our menus and making lip-smacking noises -- nice touch, garcon. We're being watched by a man across the room who is standing like a sentinel by a door marked "toilet." He's the bathroom attendant, and he's holding some neatly folded toilet paper in his hand, ready for distribution. This make us apprehensive. I mean, how quick on the draw do you need to be with the toilet paper around here?
Bon appetit!
We decide not to take our luncheon at the Motel Maharana Tourist Complex.
So, how stoked will we be to finally get to Jodhpur? Pretty stoked.
But we aren't going to starve today because Abby spotted a roadside stall selling bags of Lays potato chips, which she bought, dusted off, and ate.
Scarfing down Lays while bouncing along Indian roads is asking for trouble. And trouble is what she got, in the form of a massively violent hiccups attack. Everyone can agree it's funny when someone gets the hiccups. But it's less funny when you're sitting right in front of the hiccuper and it sounds like the hiccups are about to graduate into full-blown ralphing on the back of your head. Guess who wasn't laughing: Our driver Naresh.
Let the record show that she had a full recovery and didn't ralph.
Speaking of Lays, you may be interested to know that Indian Lays come with a recipe for Pudina Dip printed right on the bag. We can't wait to get home and try the recipe ourselves. But if you're hungry and want some Pudina Dip right now, it's easy to whip some up. All you need is curd and some pudina. Mix well.
It's midafternoon as we pull out and say "goodbye" to the Motel Maharana Tourist Complex. Jodhpur, an ancient fortress town and former princely state, is still hours away. But on the bright side: If Mom's pants fall down again, there's not a better town to be in.
For relief, we've pulled over for a snack at a roadside restaurant. Thus do we find ourselves at the Motel Maharana Tourist Complex. A more appropriate name for this restaurant might be the Twilight Zone Food Bunker. Turns out there's no motel here, no complex, no maharanas -- and we're the only tourists dumb enough to step across the threshold.
In a dining room as cozy as a Jiffy Lube, we're shown to our a table. Our eyes strain to pierce the gloom. The waiter is pointing at our menus and making lip-smacking noises -- nice touch, garcon. We're being watched by a man across the room who is standing like a sentinel by a door marked "toilet." He's the bathroom attendant, and he's holding some neatly folded toilet paper in his hand, ready for distribution. This make us apprehensive. I mean, how quick on the draw do you need to be with the toilet paper around here?
Bon appetit!
We decide not to take our luncheon at the Motel Maharana Tourist Complex.
So, how stoked will we be to finally get to Jodhpur? Pretty stoked.
But we aren't going to starve today because Abby spotted a roadside stall selling bags of Lays potato chips, which she bought, dusted off, and ate.
Scarfing down Lays while bouncing along Indian roads is asking for trouble. And trouble is what she got, in the form of a massively violent hiccups attack. Everyone can agree it's funny when someone gets the hiccups. But it's less funny when you're sitting right in front of the hiccuper and it sounds like the hiccups are about to graduate into full-blown ralphing on the back of your head. Guess who wasn't laughing: Our driver Naresh.
Let the record show that she had a full recovery and didn't ralph.
Speaking of Lays, you may be interested to know that Indian Lays come with a recipe for Pudina Dip printed right on the bag. We can't wait to get home and try the recipe ourselves. But if you're hungry and want some Pudina Dip right now, it's easy to whip some up. All you need is curd and some pudina. Mix well.
It's midafternoon as we pull out and say "goodbye" to the Motel Maharana Tourist Complex. Jodhpur, an ancient fortress town and former princely state, is still hours away. But on the bright side: If Mom's pants fall down again, there's not a better town to be in.
posted by jespes at 1:24 PM
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Exploring Kumbulgarh Fort
Yesterday we visited Kumbulgarh Fort, a hilltop castle and fortress that would look right at home in Lord of the Rings. Fortified walls snake for miles across hills, looking oddly like the Great Wall of China. The wall surrounds a landscape of woods and small farm fields, interspersed with the remains of Hindu and Jain temples that are, in turn, reminiscent of Greek ruins.
Where are we again?
One of the great things about Kumbulgarh is that it's miles from even the smallest town (many other forts are in the middle of cities). Once you walk through the main gate, you're basically strolling in the countryside with only the occasional goat herder, camel or water buffalo passing by. A welcome break from Jaipur's scooter and cow traffic jams.
Where are we again?
One of the great things about Kumbulgarh is that it's miles from even the smallest town (many other forts are in the middle of cities). Once you walk through the main gate, you're basically strolling in the countryside with only the occasional goat herder, camel or water buffalo passing by. A welcome break from Jaipur's scooter and cow traffic jams.
posted by jespes at 1:08 PM
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Monday, October 25
We Answer An Eternal Question: Does Art Have Purpose?
This morning Abby bought more etchings from the artist that she and Mom found yesterday. They're spooky images of a crouching monkey, a cat with a lot of teeth, etc.
At lunch we found another use for Abby's beautiful new etchings: Swatting bees.
It happened like this, you see. We were in an open-air restaurant, lounging on pillows like Maharajas and Maharanis, when suddenly this bee joined us. Then another bee. "This is a bee highway," Abby said.
These bees were ruining our luncheon.
Abby (who was convinced her hair products were attracting the bees) noticed where the bees were coming from: A hive was behind behind a painting on the far wall of the restaurant.
So these bees like art, do they? We'll show them some art. "Abby, where are your new etchings?"
More than once, bee met etching -- and etching won. It's a good thing the artist packed his attractive etchings in stiff cardboard.
Later, we saw an elephant traffic jam, in which an elephant was blocking traffic through a narrow stone archway where the poor elephant was trying to catch some shade. The elephant driver threw the elephant into reverse and parallel-parked the elephant. True story.
At lunch we found another use for Abby's beautiful new etchings: Swatting bees.
It happened like this, you see. We were in an open-air restaurant, lounging on pillows like Maharajas and Maharanis, when suddenly this bee joined us. Then another bee. "This is a bee highway," Abby said.
These bees were ruining our luncheon.
Abby (who was convinced her hair products were attracting the bees) noticed where the bees were coming from: A hive was behind behind a painting on the far wall of the restaurant.
So these bees like art, do they? We'll show them some art. "Abby, where are your new etchings?"
More than once, bee met etching -- and etching won. It's a good thing the artist packed his attractive etchings in stiff cardboard.
Later, we saw an elephant traffic jam, in which an elephant was blocking traffic through a narrow stone archway where the poor elephant was trying to catch some shade. The elephant driver threw the elephant into reverse and parallel-parked the elephant. True story.
posted by jespes at 10:51 AM
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Sunday, October 24
Abby Gets Bumped By A Cow
A few things we saw yesterday in Udaipur:
A beautiful palace full of mirrored rooms, jewel-encrusted walls, stained glass windows, panoramic views of the valley, and gruesome paintings of valor on battlefields of yore. (Including one where the Maharaja slew horse and rider both with one blow of his sword. Barf.)
Next door to this palace lives the current Maharaja, Arvind Singh. I met him once on a previous visit to Udaipur. He has a walrus moustache and isn't very chatty. His brother lives down the hill in a minor-league palace. They aren't very chummy with one another by all accounts, due to the fact that the brother with the house on top of the hill got most of the dough.
In other news, we saw some very interesting contemporary-art galleries. Udaipur is basically a small town that has a large community of artists with galleries on the little winding streets. We met a few artists, and Mom and Abby bought two small etchings.
Afterwards, out on the street, Abby was bumped out of the way by a cow.
In the evening, we stumbled across an interesting parade, for lack of a better word. We aren't sure what was going on -- maybe the start of a wedding procession? It included colorful and wildly decorated wooden carts, along with a camel-drawn wagon piled with loudspeakers blaring Indian music. Trailing the loudspeaker wagon was a group of about a dozen little kids -- maybe 12 years old or so -- each carrying basically a giant chandelier. The chandeliers were strung together by an electrical cord that was wired to an electrical generator on yet another cart. The generator was so old and bizarre, it would be perfectly at home at the county fair, over with the old-fashioned engines from the 1920s.
When we tried to snap a picture of the procession, the girls struck Indian-dance poses while cradling their weird lights. After a while, the whole thing meandered down the narrow lane.
A beautiful palace full of mirrored rooms, jewel-encrusted walls, stained glass windows, panoramic views of the valley, and gruesome paintings of valor on battlefields of yore. (Including one where the Maharaja slew horse and rider both with one blow of his sword. Barf.)
Next door to this palace lives the current Maharaja, Arvind Singh. I met him once on a previous visit to Udaipur. He has a walrus moustache and isn't very chatty. His brother lives down the hill in a minor-league palace. They aren't very chummy with one another by all accounts, due to the fact that the brother with the house on top of the hill got most of the dough.
In other news, we saw some very interesting contemporary-art galleries. Udaipur is basically a small town that has a large community of artists with galleries on the little winding streets. We met a few artists, and Mom and Abby bought two small etchings.
Afterwards, out on the street, Abby was bumped out of the way by a cow.
In the evening, we stumbled across an interesting parade, for lack of a better word. We aren't sure what was going on -- maybe the start of a wedding procession? It included colorful and wildly decorated wooden carts, along with a camel-drawn wagon piled with loudspeakers blaring Indian music. Trailing the loudspeaker wagon was a group of about a dozen little kids -- maybe 12 years old or so -- each carrying basically a giant chandelier. The chandeliers were strung together by an electrical cord that was wired to an electrical generator on yet another cart. The generator was so old and bizarre, it would be perfectly at home at the county fair, over with the old-fashioned engines from the 1920s.
When we tried to snap a picture of the procession, the girls struck Indian-dance poses while cradling their weird lights. After a while, the whole thing meandered down the narrow lane.
posted by jespes at 11:59 PM
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The Hawa Mahal and Train Ride
Well, the Hawa Mahal is pretty zany. It's this five-story, one-room-deep building in Jaipur where the gals in the harem could sit behind elaborate carved screens and watch the world go by, without being seen themselves. We spent an hour climbing all over it. Up near the top it gets pretty narrow and all the railings are crumbling. Not that it matters, because the railings are only about a foot tall.
In other news, we rode an elephant. When the elephant started walking, Abby let out a yelp. She was afraid of falling off of the giant elephant and into a pile of elephant poop, which is also giant.
For lunch, we went to this spectacular palace hotel. While we sat on the veranda eating things like pasta and drinking things like beers, we watched three women in bright saris weeding a croquet field. In the distance, we heard a faint, droning sound that we decided must be a vacuum cleaner. But no, it was music.
Spaghetti, croquet, gardeners wearing saris, exotic distant sounds ... what a strange mix of worlds.
Last night we rode the overnight train to Udaipur, the "Lake City." First we were shown to a really nice compartment (it even had a closet) , but guess what. Wrong car. So we ended up sharing a compartment with a fellow who is a manager at a local bank in Udaipur. He was heading home after a week of training on computers -- his bank is just getting computers.
In other news, we rode an elephant. When the elephant started walking, Abby let out a yelp. She was afraid of falling off of the giant elephant and into a pile of elephant poop, which is also giant.
For lunch, we went to this spectacular palace hotel. While we sat on the veranda eating things like pasta and drinking things like beers, we watched three women in bright saris weeding a croquet field. In the distance, we heard a faint, droning sound that we decided must be a vacuum cleaner. But no, it was music.
Spaghetti, croquet, gardeners wearing saris, exotic distant sounds ... what a strange mix of worlds.
Last night we rode the overnight train to Udaipur, the "Lake City." First we were shown to a really nice compartment (it even had a closet) , but guess what. Wrong car. So we ended up sharing a compartment with a fellow who is a manager at a local bank in Udaipur. He was heading home after a week of training on computers -- his bank is just getting computers.
posted by jespes at 1:27 AM
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Astride Elephant No. 72
Mom and Abby on an elephant. Note the elephant dispatcher holding clipboard.
posted by jespes at 1:00 AM
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Thursday, October 21
Tales From the Road Trip to Jaipur
On the way to Jaipur today, we saw:
Men beside the road with bears on leashes. They walked into traffic on their hind legs (the bears that is) to try and get people to stop for a photo. Question: What IDIOT stops the car when a bear is walking toward you?
We saw women carrying baskets of cow poop on their heads. Yes, cow poop. It gets taken home and patted it into cow-poop "mud pies," which then get dried in the sun -- sort of like sun-dried tomatoes -- and burned for fuel.
We also saw a fascinating abandoned city, Fatepur Sikri. Get a load of this screw-up: Back in the 1600s, a great ruler decided to build a new and beautiful city with all the modern conveniences: miles of ample fortifications, exquisite stone carvings, and a Parcheesi board big enough that humans were used as playing pieces. (No joke.) But, whoops. He made a mistake and failed to notice there was no water. So the city was abandoned after a few decades of extreme thirst, probably exascerbated by Parcheesi.
Today, as we visited the abandoned city of Fatepur Sikri, we had one goal: Stand on the royal Parcheesi board. We succeeded.
In addition to the trained bears, we also saw camel carts, monkeys, pigs, sheep, and endless cows and bullocks. We also saw flocks of green parrots chattering overhead.
And that was just the road trip. Late afternoon, we arrived at our hotel in Jaipur, which is rather impressive. Dad, if you could transport yourself straight here -- bypassing the monkeys and sun-dried "tomatoes" -- you'd love it. It's a 17th-century mansion at the end of a long, winding drive. It's got a beautiful stone stairway straight out of either "Brideshead Revisited" or "Gone With The Wind." The back porch (where we sat and had cool drinks this evening as the sun set) is lined by marble columns and looks out on a football-field-sized formal lawn and garden. Pretty nice.
Men beside the road with bears on leashes. They walked into traffic on their hind legs (the bears that is) to try and get people to stop for a photo. Question: What IDIOT stops the car when a bear is walking toward you?
We saw women carrying baskets of cow poop on their heads. Yes, cow poop. It gets taken home and patted it into cow-poop "mud pies," which then get dried in the sun -- sort of like sun-dried tomatoes -- and burned for fuel.
We also saw a fascinating abandoned city, Fatepur Sikri. Get a load of this screw-up: Back in the 1600s, a great ruler decided to build a new and beautiful city with all the modern conveniences: miles of ample fortifications, exquisite stone carvings, and a Parcheesi board big enough that humans were used as playing pieces. (No joke.) But, whoops. He made a mistake and failed to notice there was no water. So the city was abandoned after a few decades of extreme thirst, probably exascerbated by Parcheesi.
Today, as we visited the abandoned city of Fatepur Sikri, we had one goal: Stand on the royal Parcheesi board. We succeeded.
In addition to the trained bears, we also saw camel carts, monkeys, pigs, sheep, and endless cows and bullocks. We also saw flocks of green parrots chattering overhead.
And that was just the road trip. Late afternoon, we arrived at our hotel in Jaipur, which is rather impressive. Dad, if you could transport yourself straight here -- bypassing the monkeys and sun-dried "tomatoes" -- you'd love it. It's a 17th-century mansion at the end of a long, winding drive. It's got a beautiful stone stairway straight out of either "Brideshead Revisited" or "Gone With The Wind." The back porch (where we sat and had cool drinks this evening as the sun set) is lined by marble columns and looks out on a football-field-sized formal lawn and garden. Pretty nice.
posted by jespes at 10:45 AM
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Wednesday, October 20
A Rash of Photo Shoots Involving Us
Abby's rash has subsided, which is good news for Abby (and for the rest of us I suppose, too).
So we went to the Taj today, which is simply amazing. We spent the afternoon just sitting on the park benches, wandering the beautiful lawns, and looking at the Taj. And the saris on the women! Unbelievable. People get dressed up to go to the Taj. I mean, Americans don't get dressed up for dinner, church or anything. But people wandering around the Taj are dressed to the nines in elaborate saris of brilliant colors. Lots of jewelry, too. And high heels.
While sitting on the lawn in our skanky non-Sunday non-finest, we watched the fashion parade. And we were accosted by waves of schoolboys who wanted their picture taken with us. Why us? Not because of our wardrobe. And while certainly no one can argue with the fact that we are attractive and indeed "hot," that probably wasn't the reason either. Basically, we figure, the kids never see foreigners. (See nearby picture of Abby surrounded by schoolboys.)
In bad news, our hotel-room toilet stopped working. However, the hotel's toilet-repair staff did a crack job. They fixed the toilet fast while the three of us were lying on our beds, trying to watch cricket matches -- or anything -- instead of listening to the rapid-fire toilet-flushing going on in there.
Tomorrow: Road trip to Jaipur with Ashok our driver.
So we went to the Taj today, which is simply amazing. We spent the afternoon just sitting on the park benches, wandering the beautiful lawns, and looking at the Taj. And the saris on the women! Unbelievable. People get dressed up to go to the Taj. I mean, Americans don't get dressed up for dinner, church or anything. But people wandering around the Taj are dressed to the nines in elaborate saris of brilliant colors. Lots of jewelry, too. And high heels.
While sitting on the lawn in our skanky non-Sunday non-finest, we watched the fashion parade. And we were accosted by waves of schoolboys who wanted their picture taken with us. Why us? Not because of our wardrobe. And while certainly no one can argue with the fact that we are attractive and indeed "hot," that probably wasn't the reason either. Basically, we figure, the kids never see foreigners. (See nearby picture of Abby surrounded by schoolboys.)
In bad news, our hotel-room toilet stopped working. However, the hotel's toilet-repair staff did a crack job. They fixed the toilet fast while the three of us were lying on our beds, trying to watch cricket matches -- or anything -- instead of listening to the rapid-fire toilet-flushing going on in there.
Tomorrow: Road trip to Jaipur with Ashok our driver.
posted by jespes at 11:11 AM
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Description of the View From the Taj View Hotel
We're here in Agra at the Taj View Hotel. And guess what's out the window: The Taj.
When we got to the hotel this morning, Abby and Mom got garlanded with marigolds strung together like Hawaiian leis. But they can't fool us -- we're not in Hawaii.
After powdering our noses, we're going to hit the town.
When we got to the hotel this morning, Abby and Mom got garlanded with marigolds strung together like Hawaiian leis. But they can't fool us -- we're not in Hawaii.
After powdering our noses, we're going to hit the town.
posted by jespes at 1:08 AM
2 comments
Tuesday, October 19
Mom's First Rickshaw Ride/Wardrobe Malfunction
Today started with Mom's pants almost falling down. The drawstring broke, putting a crimp in our itinerary unless the pants got replaced, because as Mom said: "I don't think I'm up for sightseeing while my pants are about to fall down to my ankles." So we did some pants shopping.
Mom put on her new pants, and we were off!
First we went to Red Fort, a massive, 400-year-old fort in the middle of the old city. We saw all sorts of attractive ancient buildings there, and Mom also discarded her wardrobe-malfunction pants in a trash can inside the fort.
Then came the rickshaw ride. We hired two bicycle-rickshaw drivers to take us from Red Fort over to the giant mosque in the center of the old city -- what a ride. Mom and Abby were in one rickshaw, and I was in the other. We were weaving in and out along these tiny lanes, surrounded by other rickshaws, cows eating garbage, goats eating posters off the walls, laborers carrying bricks on their heads, and lots of people in general. Riding a rickshaw through the narrow streets of Old Delhi is truly a moment of total immersion for a first-time visitor to India. Right, Mom? (Mom: "Right.")
Tonight, to rebalance ourselves, we saw the other extreme of India: A fabulous Mediterranean restaurant, Olive, in a beautifully converted "haveli" or historic home. We sat in an inner courtyard and ate things like risotto with mint, and phenomenal deserts of chocolate fondant -- a tiny cake filled with gooey chocolate. We had a great time. Making it even better, our friend Daphne treated us. Thank you, Daphne!
Tomorrow: The Taj Mahal.
Mom put on her new pants, and we were off!
First we went to Red Fort, a massive, 400-year-old fort in the middle of the old city. We saw all sorts of attractive ancient buildings there, and Mom also discarded her wardrobe-malfunction pants in a trash can inside the fort.
Then came the rickshaw ride. We hired two bicycle-rickshaw drivers to take us from Red Fort over to the giant mosque in the center of the old city -- what a ride. Mom and Abby were in one rickshaw, and I was in the other. We were weaving in and out along these tiny lanes, surrounded by other rickshaws, cows eating garbage, goats eating posters off the walls, laborers carrying bricks on their heads, and lots of people in general. Riding a rickshaw through the narrow streets of Old Delhi is truly a moment of total immersion for a first-time visitor to India. Right, Mom? (Mom: "Right.")
Tonight, to rebalance ourselves, we saw the other extreme of India: A fabulous Mediterranean restaurant, Olive, in a beautifully converted "haveli" or historic home. We sat in an inner courtyard and ate things like risotto with mint, and phenomenal deserts of chocolate fondant -- a tiny cake filled with gooey chocolate. We had a great time. Making it even better, our friend Daphne treated us. Thank you, Daphne!
Tomorrow: The Taj Mahal.
posted by jespes at 3:23 PM
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Monday, October 18
Power Update
Today in our hotel room, the power flickered off and on all morning -- probably in sympathy with events in Vallonia.
In about an hour we're off to Old Delhi for the official Delhi "immersion" experience. That's the part of town where you are josteled by bicycle rickshaws, camel carts, free range cows, and the occasional monkey.
PS: We're having trouble getting photos on the site but will keep trying from our next hotel.
In about an hour we're off to Old Delhi for the official Delhi "immersion" experience. That's the part of town where you are josteled by bicycle rickshaws, camel carts, free range cows, and the occasional monkey.
PS: We're having trouble getting photos on the site but will keep trying from our next hotel.
posted by jespes at 11:48 PM
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It Sounds Like Things Are More Surreal ...
... in Indiana today than they are over here in India.
We got your note Dad. Wow. I thought electricity was supposed to go out over here -- not there. Also, we're sorry to hear about the fact that you had to wrestle another tiger.
(To catch everyone up: The power blew at the homestead in Vallonia, Indiana, last night, Dad reports. So now there's a giant diesel generator in the yard. The chain of events -- explosion; installation of small generator; removal of small generator; installation of huge generator -- freaked out the cat so much that Dad had to grab it by the head and pull it out of Mom's studio. So that's the tiger-wrestling part. For anyone who didn't know, Dad previously wrestled an actual tiger about 30 years ago as part of the grandstand entertainment at the County Fair. Little-known but true fact.)
From all this, we can only draw the obvious conclusion: Things go to pot when Mom leaves town.
As for us, we had more fun than Dad today. We ate breakfast at a beautiful, old-fashioned restaurant in the heart of the city, which looks straight out of 1940s Vienna or something--except for one thing: There's this huge big-screen TV hanging from the ceiling, playing nonstop videos of women in saris gyrating their hips on beaches/meadows/Alpine slopes while being hotly pursued by chubby men with silly moustaches.
So that was breakfast.
We also did some shopping. But only after getting in a fight with our cabbie. We told him to take us one specific store, and he pretended that he was following orders, but in fact he took us to an entirely different store where he probably gets a cut of the profit. What did he think, we were just off the turnip truck from Indiana? We sized up the situation and guess what happened: a U-turn. Soon we were at the store we wanted, spending rupees on gifts for Dad. (Wait till you see the new elephant saddle we bought you, Dad!)
Our day was wrapped up by a wonderful home-cooked dinner at the home of Usha Varadarajan, the mother of a friend of mine from work, Tunku. (This is Jesse writing this note.) From the guava juice, to the delicious main courses, to the wine and coffee on the cool back porch, it was simply great. Other guests included Tunku's brother and brother-in-law -- journalists with the newspapers the Express and the Hindu -- and other family members including Usha's sister. We talked about all kinds of things -- from the contemporary art scene in India (Usha has a house full of wonderful paintings) to whether a Bush or Kerry presidency would be better for India. Tunku's brother had just come to dinner after participating in a televized discussion of that point.
And with that, our first day in India comes to a close. Tomorrow maybe Abby will give us an update on the rash she claims she's getting from the bedsheets.
We got your note Dad. Wow. I thought electricity was supposed to go out over here -- not there. Also, we're sorry to hear about the fact that you had to wrestle another tiger.
(To catch everyone up: The power blew at the homestead in Vallonia, Indiana, last night, Dad reports. So now there's a giant diesel generator in the yard. The chain of events -- explosion; installation of small generator; removal of small generator; installation of huge generator -- freaked out the cat so much that Dad had to grab it by the head and pull it out of Mom's studio. So that's the tiger-wrestling part. For anyone who didn't know, Dad previously wrestled an actual tiger about 30 years ago as part of the grandstand entertainment at the County Fair. Little-known but true fact.)
From all this, we can only draw the obvious conclusion: Things go to pot when Mom leaves town.
As for us, we had more fun than Dad today. We ate breakfast at a beautiful, old-fashioned restaurant in the heart of the city, which looks straight out of 1940s Vienna or something--except for one thing: There's this huge big-screen TV hanging from the ceiling, playing nonstop videos of women in saris gyrating their hips on beaches/meadows/Alpine slopes while being hotly pursued by chubby men with silly moustaches.
So that was breakfast.
We also did some shopping. But only after getting in a fight with our cabbie. We told him to take us one specific store, and he pretended that he was following orders, but in fact he took us to an entirely different store where he probably gets a cut of the profit. What did he think, we were just off the turnip truck from Indiana? We sized up the situation and guess what happened: a U-turn. Soon we were at the store we wanted, spending rupees on gifts for Dad. (Wait till you see the new elephant saddle we bought you, Dad!)
Our day was wrapped up by a wonderful home-cooked dinner at the home of Usha Varadarajan, the mother of a friend of mine from work, Tunku. (This is Jesse writing this note.) From the guava juice, to the delicious main courses, to the wine and coffee on the cool back porch, it was simply great. Other guests included Tunku's brother and brother-in-law -- journalists with the newspapers the Express and the Hindu -- and other family members including Usha's sister. We talked about all kinds of things -- from the contemporary art scene in India (Usha has a house full of wonderful paintings) to whether a Bush or Kerry presidency would be better for India. Tunku's brother had just come to dinner after participating in a televized discussion of that point.
And with that, our first day in India comes to a close. Tomorrow maybe Abby will give us an update on the rash she claims she's getting from the bedsheets.
posted by jespes at 3:07 PM
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Sunday, October 17
Cars and Candy Bars
Maureen here. You should see the neat Ambassador cars, manufacturer by Hindustan Motors. A blast from the past, they're constructed of 1950's car bodies with modern Isuzu engines. Air conditioning too! I feel as if I'm back in high school driving to Frisch's Big Boy Drive In in Toledo. And some traveling advice: Jesse and Abby told me not to eat any candy bars with Cadbury's wrappers while we're on the road in India, but declined to be specific about what would happen if I did. I guess we leave that to our imaginations. More later!
posted by jespes at 3:35 PM
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Arrival in New Delhi
Jesse here. Well, 20 hours and some bad Alitalia airplane pasta (and spicy airplane Indian-food chickpeas!), we made it to Claridges Hotel. Our room had a giant king size bed, which is a good thing because for a moment it looked like all three of us were going to have to sleep in that one bed. We fixed the problem lickety split, though, and now have a second bed in there.
The hotel is rather posh, if the 6-foot-4 Marahaja-wannabe people-greeter at the front door is any clue. Wal-Mart could learn a lesson or two from Claridges with regard to people-greeters.
The hotel is rather posh, if the 6-foot-4 Marahaja-wannabe people-greeter at the front door is any clue. Wal-Mart could learn a lesson or two from Claridges with regard to people-greeters.
posted by jespes at 3:21 PM
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